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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24498241">What a Bloody Mess</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Blood, Fluff, Hospital, Hurt Alex, Hurt/Comfort, I’ll be orphaning this work but probably still monitoring it, M/M, Possibly Inaccurate Information, injuries</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 07:00:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,830</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24498241</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>An accident during filming leaves George in shock and Alex in hospital. </p><p>“Alex pulled his hand up, face screwed into a pained expression. He held his arm up, a steady river of red pouring from a vertical cut on his wrist. He let it hover over the desk where the blood began to pool.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>George Andrew &amp; Alex Elmslie, George Andrew/Alex Elmslie, I wrote this as friendship but you can interpret it as you wish</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>168</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>What a Bloody Mess</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This came to me in a daydream. I’m not joking.</p><p>Last time I was in an ambulance I was 10 and also probably in shock so I don’t remember much. I did the best research I could but aspects are probably inaccurate. Sorry.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>George hit the spacebar to pause as the Architectural Digest video came to a close and checked how long they’d been recording for: 15 minutes. “Alright Al,” he said. “I reckon one more video and we’re done.”</p><p>Alex nodded and shuffled in his chair, pulling his hat off to mess with his hair before pulling it back on again. “Let’s make it a good one.” He took control of George's mouse and scrolled through the channel’s videos. “Oh, how about the $40.5 million with a batcave?”</p><p>“A batcave?” George echoed, leaning in to examine the screen himself. “Damn, alright, sure.” He pressed play on the video and slipped back into his filming persona, easily joking with Alex as the tour guide led them around the superfluous house.</p><p>The tour guide had just reached the outdoor theatre when George felt a tickle in his throat. He coughed it away, but that just made it worse. The sudden coughing fit heaved his chest and he blindly ran his hand over the keyboard for the pause button. “Al - water in my bag,” he choked out between coughs. </p><p>Alex quickly grabbed it, unscrewing it and passing it to George who gulped it quickly. He took an experimental breath and a small cough before calming and placing the bottle down on the desk. “Jesus,” he muttered, voice hoarse.</p><p>“I think you saw death for a second,” Alex grinned, patting him on the back. “That better not be coronavirus.”</p><p>George leaned back in his chair. “Don’t even joke about that. Where’s the lid?” He gestured to the bottle.</p><p>“Dropped it in my hurry to not let you die,” Alex said, slowly reaching down. “One sec.”</p><p>George waited. </p><p>“Fuck!” Alex exclaimed. </p><p>George turned to him quickly, leaning over. “What? You alright?”</p><p>Alex pulled his hand up, face screwed into a pained expression. He held his arm up, a steady river of red pouring from a vertical cut on his wrist. He let it hover over the desk where the blood began to pool.</p><p>“Oh, shit!” George said, jumping up and pulling off his mask. He let the arm of his hoodie loose over his fingertips and used it to wrap tightly around Alex’s wrist, pulling it up above his heart. “We’ve got to keep it above your heart,” he recalled. The white sleeve turned rapidly red and George glanced at Alex with ensuing panic.</p><p>“First-aid is in the kitchen,” Alex seethed out through gritted teeth. </p><p>George nodded rapidly and began to pull Alex behind him. Drops of red seeped out from the hoodie and created a bloody path from one room to the next. </p><p>“I’m going to have to let go to get the kit,” George warned as they reached the kitchen, He parked Alex by the sink and threw him a teatowel. “Use this on 3, okay?”</p><p>Alex nodded jerkily. </p><p>“One...two...three!” George pulled the fabric away. The blood immediately flowed a lot faster, splatters covering the front of George’s hoodie and another pool forming on the floor. George turned to quickly pull out and open the first aid kit.</p><p>In the meantime, Alex stumbled and dropped the towel. “Shit, shit, shit,” he mumbled under his breath, the mess on the floor becoming larger and more pronounced. </p><p>George turned back and pulled Alex up, pushing him against the worktop. “I’m - I’m gonna clean it, okay? This’ll hurt.” He looked up at Alex for approval.</p><p>Alex nodded.</p><p>He poured some cleaning alcohol and ignored how his heart clenched when Alex let out a scream of pain, muffled by him biting his hand. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” George repeated like a mantra as he wrapped the wound in a bandage. He tried to ignore the tears he could see slipping down Alex’s face.</p><p>Alex released his hand, deep teeth indents left behind. He took a few deep breaths. The bandage on his wrist was beginning to turn red at an alarming rate.</p><p>“Should I call 111?” George asked, voice shaky. “I’m calling 111.” He pulled his phone out his pocket, and lifted Alex’s hand above his heart with one hand while he dialled with the other.</p><p>
  <i>”This is the non-emergency line, how can I help?”</i>
</p><p>George swallowed. “Hi, my friend, uh, had an accident. He cut his wrist and it won’t stop bleeding.”</p><p>
  <i>How much blood has he lost? What is the cut like, can you describe it?”</i>
</p><p>George looked down at the floor and back up queasily. “It’s puddling on the floor, I don’t...I don’t know how much.” </p><p>
  <i>And the cut?”</i>
</p><p>“The skin was pretty pulled apart, it won’t stop bleeding enough to see how deep and long it is. It, uh, it’s vertical.” He felt his heart hammer in his chest and he checked on Alex, who was leaning against the worktop. “He’s looking very pale, is he okay?” He shifted his grip, trying to apply pressure with his bare hand, ignoring how it became slick with crimson blood.</p><p>
  <i>”It is likely your friend has hit a vein. I’m going to request an ambulance to your location. Can you tell me your address?”</i>
</p><p>George rattled off his address.</p><p>
  <i>And what is the patient’s name, age, gender and known medical history?”</i>
</p><p>“Alexander Elmslie, male, 21...uh...I don’t know - no major illnesses or anything that I know of.” He felt his voice stutter and shake.</p><p>
  <i>”Just one last thing, you’re doing great - do you know what object caused the injury?</i>
</p><p>“No.” George said.</p><p>He listened to the operator say a few more words before hanging up and turning to face Alex. “Hey, Al, they’re sending an ambulance, okay?”</p><p>Alex nodded slowly. “I need to sit down.”</p><p>George bit his lip before gently lowering Alex to the floor. “I have to go unlock the door. I swear I’ll be right back.” He rushed through the apartment, accidentally stepping in blood and leaving bloody, skidded footprints in his wake. </p><p>Alex looked worse when he got back. George lowered himself in front of him, wiping his hand on his hoodie and then pulling Alex’s chin up to look at him instead of the blood. “Ignore it, you’ll make yourself feel sick,” he said softly. </p><p>Alex looked George in the eyes. He didn’t say anything, but George smiled sadly nonetheless, and pulled him into a quick but loose hug. He settled next to Alex on the floor, determinedly not looking at the bloody still steadily seeping from Alex’s wrist and onto the floor. </p><p>It was a 10 minute wait until George heard the sound of the apartment door opening and footsteps making their way towards them. He stood up and waved the paramedic over. </p><p>“How long since the bleeding began?” The paramedic asked, gently moving George out of the way to examine Alex, who was looking a little more lively now they had arrived.</p><p>“Maybe 15 minutes? 20?” George guessed. “I’m not sure.”</p><p>The paramedic nodded and coaxed Alex to his feet. “Any allergies?”</p><p>George shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of.”</p><p>The paramedic nodded. “Unfortunately, you won’t be able to come with us. Once your friend is stabilised we can release him and he will be able to contact you.” He led Alex away through the front door.</p><p>“Be home soon, Al,” George whispered to him, before following them to the door and locking it behind them. He stood still for a few moments before robotically walking to the kitchen.</p><p>Now the pressure of the moment was gone, he could survey the scene. Bloody footprints spanned a few steps from a sickeningly large pool of blood. Puddles on the worktop had begun to congeal, with the smaller drops already dry. Feeling slightly sick, George made his way back to his bedroom where the recording setup had been abandoned. A small, dry trail of blood led to the room. He stepped inside and walked up to the desk. It was covered in blood, along with various papers and objects and a small section of carpet. He crouched down to where Alex had been reaching. Fleetingly he saw the bottle cap and picked it up, placing it gently on his desk. He looked back down, and a glint caught his eye. Right beside the bottle cap’s place was a small sliver of glass. George pushed aside a hastily thrown shirt to reveal a broken bottle, with one particularly sharp edge covered in blood. He threw the shirt back over it and sat down heavily in the chair.</p><p>Then he noticed that the red light of the camera was still on. He’d never ended the video. </p><p>George shakily pulled his disguise back on and turned to the camera. “Hey, so you probably noticed that we cut the video pretty abruptly. Um, there was an accident and Alex got hurt. He’s fine, but we had to end the video. Really sorry about that.” He sat silently for a few more moments before shutting off the camera and removing the disguise.</p><p>He sat for a few more moments before standing abruptly, unsure of what to do. He traipsed back to the living room, sitting heavily on the sofa. He pulled out his phone.</p><p>
  <i>&lt;1 message from Will&gt;</i>
  <br/>
  <i>Will: woah, did u see the ambulance outside? Wonder what happened?</i>
</p><p>George sat and deliberated for a moment before typing out a slow reply. </p><p>
  <i>George: it was alex</i>
</p><p>A few moments after the text was sent he felt his phone vibrate with an incoming call.</p><p>
  <i></i>
</p><p>He swiped accept and put it on loudspeaker.</p><p><i>Is Alex okay?”</i> Will asked, a vague underlying tone of panic evident in his voice.</p><p>George sighed heavily. “He cut himself by accident and it wouldn’t stop bleeding.” He stopped when he heard his voice crack slightly.</p><p><i>”Are you okay?”</i> Will asked.</p><p>George stayed silent for a moment. “Just worried. I need to clean up the blood. I don’t want Alex to have to come home and see it.”</p><p>He heard shuffling on the other end of the line. <i>“Do you want me to come over?”</i></p><p>George frowned. “But lockdown-”</p><p>Will cut him off. <i>”Fuck lockdown right now, I can’t leave you to clean up his blood alone. Let me help.”</i></p><p>“You’re afraid of blood.”</p><p>Will sighed on the other end of the line. <i>”I’ll be okay. I’m coming over George. 5 minutes.”</i></p><p>George heard more shuffling before the call cut off. He placed his phone down. He did want Will’s help. He didn’t know why he was arguing so badly.</p><p>-</p><p>Will stumbled out the door and headed to the lift to take him to George and Alex’s apartment. He bounced his foot with nervous energy and bit his lip. “C’mon…” he mumbled under his breath as he waited for the lift.</p><p>It arrived with a ding and he rushed inside, pressing the button and waiting as patiently as possible. </p><p>When the door arrived he walked down the hall until he stood outside the door. There was some dried blood outside and he felt his stomach sink. The reality of the situation had just sunk in. He knocked and waited. </p><p>George opened the door and he fought back a shocked gasp, inhaling sharply instead. George was wearing a while hoodie. The right sleeve was soaked red up to the wrist. The front was splattered and a red smudge, similar to a handprint, was stained on the front.</p><p>“Shit,” he said. </p><p>George jerked his head to welcome him in and then stood in front of him before Will could get a good look. “Don’t freak out.”</p><p>Will nodded.</p><p>Grimly happy enough, George led him into the kitchen where Will stopped short. The amount of blood was more than he’d anticipated. It was all over the floor and worktops, two bloody footprints leading away that faded into barely-there smudges of dried blood. Bits were congealed, some areas were dry and others were still wet in a puddle. </p><p>Will took a breath. “Alright, let’s go.”</p><p>-</p><p>George was about halfway through his second cup of coffee with Will when his phone vibrated. </p><p>
  <i></i>
</p><p>He picked up. “Hello?”</p><p>
  <i>”Hello, this is the London Hospital, is this George Andrew, emergency contact of Alexander Elmslie?”</i>
</p><p>George sat upright, setting his mug down not-so-carefully. “Yes, that’s me. Is everything okay?”</p><p>
  <i>”Alexander had an unexpected reaction to the anesthetic used during his wound closure surgery. We will have to keep him in to observe overnight. Would you be able to confirm some information over the phone?”</i>
</p><p>“Of course,” George murmured, ignoring the concerned looks he was getting from Will. “What do you need to know?”</p><p>-</p><p>“You’re sure you’ll be okay?” Will asked as he stood at the door.</p><p>George nodded. “I’m sure. I’ll get today’s video footage sent off.”</p><p>Will nodded. “Get changed, yeah? You don’t want to stay in that any longer.” He nodded to the hoodie.</p><p>George smiled slightly. “I will, don’t worry. Thanks for helping.”</p><p>“No worries.”</p><p>George shut the door behind Will and padded to his bedroom. He sat at his desk and pulled the memory card from the camera, inserting it into his computer and dragging the overly-large file into a blank email.</p><p>To: Joe (Editor)</p><p>Subject: Video</p><p>File: 00038291.vid</p><p>He pressed send without adding body text, too exhausted to care. He and Will had missed the bedroom in the cleanup so he trudged into Alex’s room instead. He was sure he wouldn’t mind, but he’d seen enough of Alex’s blood for a lifetime. He lay down on his side, phone falling from his hoodie pocket to beside him. He’d just rest for a little.</p><p>-</p><p>George woke to the feeling of someone sitting beside him. He blinked and rolled over. </p><p>“You’re awake,” a voice said. Alex.</p><p>George sat up and turned to Alex.<br/>“You’re home.”</p><p>Alex was sitting in bed beside him, scrolling on his phone. A white bandage peeked from his hoodie sleeve. “They released me this morning, but I couldn’t get hold of you. I got the spare key from Will’s.”</p><p>“Sorry,” George said, pulling up his phone and skimming the missed notifications.</p><p>
  <i>3 Missed Calls and 5 New Messages from Alex<br/>1 New Email from Joe (Editor)</i>
</p><p>“Sorry,” he said again. </p><p>Alex laughed. “Don’t worry, it’s okay.”</p><p>George suddenly realised the position he was in and flushed slightly. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep here...we missed the blood in my room.”</p><p>“I don’t mind. Thanks for clearing it up, you and Will.” Alex sent him a soft smile.</p><p>George returned it and tiredly shuffled from under the covers. Alex’s smile faded quickly.</p><p>“You’re still wearing that?” He asked.</p><p>George looked down, only to realise that he was still wearing the bloodstained hoodie. The stains had long turned brown. He felt a little sick at the sight.</p><p>Alex leaned over and placed a hand on George’s shoulder. “C’mon, hoodie off.”</p><p>George pulled his arms from the sleeves and allowed Alex to help pull it over his head. Alex then proceeded to fling it across the room to the doorway. “We’ll wash it soon, okay?”</p><p>George nodded, and felt his gaze drop to Alex’s wrist again. “Are you okay?”</p><p>Alex hummed. “Yeah. I hit a vein and then reacted badly to the anesthetic. They said I lost around 2 pints of blood.”</p><p>Geoge let out a shaky breath and rested his head on Alex’s shoulder. “Yeah, they called me about the reaction.”</p><p>Alex ran a gentle hand through his hair. “I’m really sorry about all this.”</p><p>George shook his head best he could without moving. “Not your fault. Broken bottle.”</p><p>“Do we need to finish the video?” Alex asked.</p><p>George suddenly sat up, remembering the email. “No…” he said, distracted. “I filmed an outro, and I have an email from Joe.”</p><p>
  <i>From: Joe (Editor)</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Subject: RE: Video</i>
</p><p>
  <i>File: clip.vid</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Body: George, I will have to cut a lot of the end because of the blood. Are you sure you want me to use this outro? You seemed a little out of it. Get back to me.</i>
</p><p>George turned on the volume and opened the file.</p><p>Immediately he saw the issue. The angle of the video meant that some blood on the desk could be seen. Worst of all, though, was George himself. The bloodstained hoodie was in clear view, and his left hand was still caked a little in blood. Furthermore, he had smeared it on his mask while pulling the disguise back on. He grimaced a little.</p><p>“Are you gonna refilm?” Alex asked from beside him. </p><p>George shrugged. “I probably should, but I’m just too drained right now.”</p><p>Alex pulled George so he was lying flat, and then pulled him onto his chest. “Don’t make it weird,” he warned jokingly.</p><p>George laughed softly. “Thank you, Al.”</p><p>-</p><p>In the end, he left the outro in.</p><p>
  <i>@memulous:<br/>regarding the end of this video, i decided not to reshoot but be aware of the warning on screen. it felt too awkward when i tried to film it again so i felt it best to leave it.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Link: reacting to crazy houses we can’t afford</i>
</p>
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